One more update to be all caught up…
So November passed with one little post on the blog. Bad me. The days have been flying by way too fast for me…
I did a lot of cooking this month, so that’s a plus and I hope to write about some of the recipes I tried soon, so bear with me… Here’s what November looked like in the TPH kitchen:
Trying to get into the Fall spirit, I started out with Apple Cinnamon Buttermilk Cake. I gotta admit, not too enthused by it. Ate some of it, but wasn’t blown away. Might make again because it got some good reviews, might not.
Went for healthy snacking with Cafe Tu Tu Tango Black Bean Salsa. Cafe Tu Tu Tango was a restaurant in Coconut Grove for years that I went to quite a bit when I was in graduate school. Don’t think I ever had this salsa, but maybe… Really good, fresh and good for you!
Oh my gosh, this Mushroom and Leek Bread Pudding is amazingly good and worth every, single, numerous fat gram.
Clearly I need to work on my pancake shaping skills… Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes – Made these pancakes for the Misses, who really liked! Sadly, Miss E wouldn’t allow me to put raisins in the batter – I think they would have been so much more cookie-like with them. Next time.
Wanted to make a fat-free cream cheese spread for bagels so I made the Barefoot Contessa’s Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese using fat-free cream cheese in place of regular. The dill was a little overpowering, but not bad with smoked salmon on top!
I made another variation of s’mores with these S’mores Cookies. Lest you all think I am obsessed with s’mores, I was given this giant bar of good milk chocolate by my staff for Boss’ Day:
I am not one to sit down with a bar of chocolate, so I decided to chop it up (after tasting, of course) and use it as the chocolate chips in these cookies. Good call! Misses really liked!
Chickpeas in Chunky Tomato Sauce Over Couscous (from a 1993 Bon Appetit!) – healthy, filling, and really easy vegan dinner. We ate this for a few dinners (D) and lunches (me). Yum.
Another vegan meal followed with Southwestern Tofu Burritos (from a 1992 Bon Appetit! I was digging deep into my collection!!). Really, really liked this recipe. Healthy, protein-filled and delicious. Will definitely make again!
Starting to get ready for Thanksgiving, I made Ultimate Ginger Cookies and the title doesn’t lie. The texture is perfect, but I will dial back the ginger and cloves with the next go round. Too much bite…
In advance I was able to prep my most favorite Compound Herb Butter – a hit every year and Cranberry Apricot Sauce.
I also made Tangy Cranberry Sauce from an old Dallas Morning News, but it was just too savory for Thanksgiving.
At the Thanksgiving bar (is this just my family that has a bar set-up for Thanksgiving?), we had an assortment of olives, cheese, giant fava beans from Norman Brothers (amazing Miami grocery store and a recipe I need to learn stat!), Spinach-Artichoke Bites (ok, not great) and two kinds of nuts for snacking – Rosemary Cashews and Spiced Candied Walnuts.
New to the Thanksgiving table were Green Beans with Bistro Mustard Vinaigrette – so easy to make ahead and really delicious. Loved these and will make again when they are the only side dish, not one of eight!
New for dessert this year, I made Pecan Pie Thumbprint Cookies and Cranberry Bread Pudding (again from a 1992 Bon Appetit) that were both FABULOUS.
I also started some Cranberry Orange Vodka that is still “brewing” in a dark closet 🙂
Not so bad!! Was a busy girl in the kitchen! Adding 19 cards to file away for a grand total of 156 this year!
[…] Scallion Cream Cheese from her book Family Style (made her Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese last month), again using fat-free cream cheese in place of regular. Liked it okay, but it was not thick like […]